Piercing pin for an infusion system

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a piercing pin (10) for perfusion purposes to pierce the resilient capsule of a bottle and allow liquid to flow from the bottle (44) to a perfusion system. The piercing pin (10) for perfusion purposes is constituted by a pin body (30) having a longitudinal projection (36) including at least one internal duct (37a, 37b), and piercing means (20) including an internal duct (25) extending said internal duct (37a, 37b) of the longitudinal projection (36), said piercing means (20) are removable and are connected to said longitudinal projection (36) by temporary fastening means (28, 38) for transmitting piercing force to said longitudinal projection (36) and for coming apart from said longitudinal projection (36) when the pin is withdrawn from the bottle. The piercing pin can thus be used once only.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a piercing pin for perfusion purposesthat can be used once only.

2. Description of the Related Art

A piercing pin for perfusion purposes is essentially constituted by atip and a pin body having a through duct for conveying the flow ofperfusion liquid.

When the perfusion system is connected to the perfusion bottle, the tipof the piercing pin pierces the resilient capsule of the perfusionbottle and the pin body is connected to the perfusion system, therebyallowing medication contained in the perfusion bottle to be infusedslowly and continuously into the body of the patient.

A piercing pin for perfusion purposes is known that is made in such amanner that multiple successive uses thereof are possible.

Unfortunately, such a pin is sterile on first use only, and unless it isresterilized there is a risk of contamination during subsequent use.

The pin can thus be contaminated firstly at its tip, by the cap, thecapsule, or the substance in the perfusion bottle, or subsequently thepin body can be contaminated by any part of the perfusion system or bythe patient.

Another drawback of the prior art piercing pin for perfusion purposes isdescribed below.

The tip of the piercing pin for perfusion purposes is designed to piercethe resilient capsule of the cap of the perfusion bottle and to guidethe medication towards the perfusion system by means of an internalduct. When the piercing pin is used on successive occasions, its tipwill in succession pierce the capsule of a new perfusion bottle, bepushed into the bottle, and subsequently be withdrawn from the bottlebefore being used again. Multiple piercing operations blunt the bevelledend of the tip of the pin, thereby making it less effective. Inaddition, particles of plastic due to said wear, or of rubber resultingfrom the use of a blunt tip, can pass into the internal duct of the pinand be injected into the patient unless retaining means such as anappropriate filter are provided in the perfusion system.

In order to avoid the above-mentioned drawbacks, there is considerabledemand for a piercing pin for perfusion purposes to be developed that isincapable of being reused, however such a piercing pin has not yet beenproposed.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Consequently, the object of the present invention is to provide apiercing pin for perfusion purposes that can be used once only.

According to the present invention, this object is achieved by a singleuse piercing pin for perfusion purposes constituted by a pin bodyforming a main hollow portion, a longitudinal projection extending saidmain portion and including at least one internal duct, and piercingmeans for piercing a resilient capsule of a perfusion bottle andincluding an internal duct extending said internal duct of thelongitudinal projection, in which the following improvements areprovided:

said piercing means are constituted by a part that is removable fromsaid longitudinal projection and that is connected to said longitudinalprojection by temporary fastening means such that, when said piercingmeans pierce said capsule, said piercing means transmit the piercingforce to said longitudinal projection, and such that, when said piercingmeans and said longitudinal projection pass through said capsule, saidpiercing means remain fastened to said longitudinal projection;

said perforation means also have at least one extension likewise capableof passing through said capsule; and

said extension and said temporary fastening means enable said piercingmeans to be separated from said longitudinal projection when the pin iswithdrawn from the bottle such that said piercing means remain insidethe perfusion bottle.

The invention will be better understood and secondary characteristicsand advantages thereof will appear on reading the following descriptionof an embodiment given below by way of example.

Naturally the description and the drawings are given purely by way ofnon-limiting indication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial section view of a piercing pin of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic fragmentary front view seen in direction II onFIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a fragmentary side view of the longitudinal projection fromthe body of the piercing pin;

FIG. 3B is an axial section view of the tip of the pin on III--III ofFIG. 4B;

FIG. 4A is a diagrammatic front view of the end of the longitudinalprojection from the body of the piercing pin in direction IVA on FIG.3A;

FIG. 4B is a diagrammatic back view of the tip of the pin in directionIVB on FIG. 3B;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary axial section view of the piercing pin and theperfusion bottle before the tip of the pin has pierced the cap of thebottle;

FIG. 6 is analogous to FIG. 5 but shows the relative position of the pinand of the cap after the cap has been fully pierced by the pin; and

FIG. 7 is analogous to FIG. 5, but shows the perfusion bottle and thepiercing pin after they have been separated from each other.

The piercing pin 10 shown in FIG. 1 comprises:

a removable hollow tip 20 constituting piercing means and formed by abase 24 and a bevelled end 22 for piercing the resilient capsule 46 ofthe cap 42 of a perfusion bottle 44; and

a pin body 30 made up of a hollow main portion 34, a longitudinalprojection 36 extending said main portion 34, and an annular side wall32 extending said main portion 34 and surrounding said longitudinalprojection 36, at least in part. The pin body 30 is a cylinder ofcircular section and the outside diameter of its side wall 32 is largerthan that of the main portion 34. The internal periphery of the sidewall 32 is also a cylinder of circular section and surrounds thelongitudinal projection 36 whose external periphery is essentiallycylindrical and of circular section. The main portion 34, the side wall32, and the longitudinal projection 36 are in line on and coaxial abouta first longitudinal axis 39.

The base 24 of the hollow tip 20 is designed to be fastened temporarilyto the longitudinal projection 36 from the body of the pin 30.

To this end, said temporary fastening means 28, 38 are disposed on saidbase 24 of the hollow tip 20 and also on a free end of said longitudinalprojection 36 from the pin body 30.

As can be seen in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 4A, 4B, in accordance with anadvantageous characteristic, said temporary fastening means areconstituted by a guide system having a first slideway 38 on the free endof the longitudinal projection 36 and a second slideway 28 on said base24, said second slideway 28 constituting an element that iscomplementary to said first slideway 38, said first and second slideways28 and 38 being designed to co-operate for reversibly positioning saidhollow tip 20 on said cylindrical projection 36 of the pin body 30.Also, provision is made for the profile of said second slideway 28 to beT-shaped.

In this embodiment, the first and second slideways 28 and 38 co-operatein reversible rectilinear translation movement, thus enabling the hollowtip 20 to be guided in translation relative to the end of thelongitudinal projection 36.

The first slideway 38 is made up of two longitudinal grooves, disposedsymmetrically to each other at the periphery of the longitudinalprojection 36. The inside walls of these grooves prevent any rotarymovement of the hollow tip 20 relative to the longitudinal projection36.

The second slideway 28 has an inner periphery which is complementary tothe outer periphery of said first slideway 38, in particular it has twolongitudinal projections that are symmetrical relative to each otherabout a vertical longitudinal plane of symmetry or midplane 12 whichalso defines a plane of orthogonal symmetry for the piercing pin 10 as awhole.

The longitudinal projection 36 is cylindrical, of circular section, withthe exception of its free end where the first slideway 38 is situated.

According to an essential characteristic of the invention, in order toprevent the pin 10 from being reused, a removable tip 20 is providedwhich necessarily becomes detached from the pin body 30 when the pin isseparated from the perfusion bottle. To this end, the hollow tip alsohas an extension 26 which does not hinder the tip 20 in piercing andthen passing through the capsule 46 of the perfusion bottle 44. Theextension 26 consists in a projection 26 that slightly overhangs theouter periphery of the surface following said projection 26 goingtowards the main portion 34 of the pin body when said piercing means 20are positioned on the pin body 30 by said temporary fastening means 28,38, such that the capsule 46 comes into abutment against said projection26 when the pin 10 is withdrawn from the bottle 44.

With reference to FIG. 1, it can be seen that the projection 26 projectsradially from a portion of the outer periphery of the cylindricallongitudinal projection 36, said portion of the outer periphery in theembodiment shown constituting the surface following the projection 26going towards the main portion 34 of the pin body when the tip 20 isconnected to the pin body 30. The tip 20 defines a second longitudinalaxis 29 parallel to said first longitudinal axis 39 when the tip 20 isfitted to the pin body 30.

In the embodiment shown, the projection 26 follows the second slideway28 and constitutes an external extension thereof. As can be seen inFIGS. 2 and 4B, the projection is in the form of a length of an ovalsection hollow half-cylinder whose longitudinal edges are folded inwardsand form the longitudinal projections of the second slideway 28. Thefree end of the projection 26 is plane and perpendicular to the secondlongitudinal axis 29 and it forms a plane surface against which theinside face of the capsule 46 bears when the pin 10 is separated fromthe perfusion bottle 44. The capsule 46 thus prevents the hollow tip 20returning, given that the tip comes apart easily from the pin body 30because of the slideway guide system, thus causing the tip to drop offin the bottle.

A perfusion bottle 44 containing the liquid to be perfused essentiallycomprises a bottle, e.g. made of glass, a resilient capsule 46, and acap 42. The perfusion bottle 44 shown in part in FIGS. 5 to 7 includes acap 42 surrounding the outer periphery of its neck and partially closingthe opening of the bottle, while leaving access to the central zone ofthe opening through which the tip 20 of the pin 10 is to pass. A hollowcylinder of circular section made of resilient material covers theinside of the neck of the perfusion bottle and also forms the resilientcapsule 46 that provides a thin wall completely closing the cylinder,thereby constituting the element which closes the perfusion bottle. Thefront face of the capsule 46 is in plane contact with the back face ofthe portion of the cap 42 which partially closes the opening of thebottle.

The outer periphery of the cap 42 is circularly cylindrical in shape andthe back end thereof has a lip projecting inwardly towards the outsideof the glass bottle.

The side wall of the pin body is designed to receive the outer peripheryof the cap 42 of the perfusion bottle, and thereby serve as a supportelement for the perfusion bottle. Firstly, the side wall 32 must possesa degree of resilience and must be capable of holding the cap 42 inplace so that it does not become separated in untimely manner from thepiercing pin 10. To this end, said side wall 32 of the pin body 30 isprovided with uniformly spaced-apart longitudinal slots extending overthe full length of said side wall 32.

The free end 33 of said side wall 32 includes a rib on its inside faceprojecting radially inwards so that said rib 43 serves as a catch or asa stop element for engaging the edge of the back face of the cap 42 ofthe perfusion bottle 44 when said cap 42 is fully engaged into said pinbody 30 and when said perfusion bottle has any tendency to movelongitudinally away from the pin 10.

Thus, when the perfusion bottle 44 is in position on the pin 10, theside wall 32 enlarges as permitted by the slots, and surrounds the cap42, and then, when the cap 42 is completely surrounded by the side wall32, the side wall 32 returns to its initial shape and the rib 43 bearsagainst the back edge of the cap 42 (FIG. 6) to prevent the bottle 44from being separated axially from the pin 10.

In addition, to prevent further engagement axial movement between thebottle 44 and the pin 10, it is advantageous to ensure that theperiphery of the inside face connecting said side wall 32 to said mainportion 34 of the pin body 30 presents an abutment 45 suitable forco-operating with the end face of said cap 42 of the perfusion bottlewhen said cap is fully engaged in said pin body 30.

A suitable technique for manufacturing the body provides for the mainportion 34 thereof to have a circularly symmetrical outer peripheryaround a first longitudinal axis 39:

the inner periphery 31 of said side wall 32 is circularly cylindricalabout said first longitudinal axis 39; and

the outer periphery of said cap 42 of the perfusion bottle 44 iscircularly cylindrical, having a diameter that is smaller than or equalto the diameter of the inner periphery of said side wall 32.

Another aspect of the invention is described below and relates to theducts along which the perfusion liquid flows. The liquid must flow fromthe perfusion bottle through the pin and be guided towards the perfusionsystem. This aspect is not described in detail herein, but is performedby the back portion 40 of the pin body 30, said portion 40 carryingmeans for co-operating with the element of the perfusion system that isto be connected to the perfusion bottle 44 via the pin 10, e.g. a hose.This back portion 40 of the pin body 30 incorporates the back end of aduct that passes axially through the pin body 30 and that serves toguide the flow of perfusion liquid. This duct is centered on the firstlongitudinal axis 39 and comprises the internal duct 35 of the mainportion 34 of the pin body 30 together with its extension, i.e. a firstinternal duct 37a in the longitudinal projection 36. As shown in FIG. 1,the main portion 34 of the pin body 30 includes an internal duct 35extending said internal duct 37a, 37b of the longitudinal projection 36,the end of said internal duct 35 of the main portion being closed by aseptum of pre-slit latex.

This septum may be made of rubber, and it need not be pre-slit, howeverit serves to guarantee that the assembly constituted by the piercing pin10 of the invention and the perfusion bottle 44 is leakproof. When thebottle is in position on the pin, liquid flows through the internalducts 37a and 35 of the pin body 30, and because of the septum, theliquid does not flow any further. Thereafter, the pin 10 is connected tothe perfusion system: another hollow tip (not shown) pierces said septumso that the perfusion liquid can flow into the entire perfusion system.When perfusion is terminated, the bottle is separated from the piercingpin and the piercing pin is separated from the perfusion system: sincethe septum is flexible, it recloses its slit and prevents any liquidthat remains in the internal duct 35 of the main portion 34 of the pinbody 30 from flowing out.

The hollow tip 20 includes a duct 25 centered on the second longitudinalaxis 29. The longitudinal projection has a second internal duct 37bwhich, when the tip 20 is in position on the longitudinal projection 36of the pin body via the temporary fastening means 28, 38, is centered onthe second longitudinal axis 29 and is in line with the internal duct 25of the tip 20.

This second internal duct 37b can be connected to a ventilation apertureor air intake beside its back end and it communicates with the internalduct 25 of the tip 20; these two internal ducts 37b and 25 can thusguide a flow of filtered outside air into the perfusion bottle so as toallow the bottle to empty out its contents. The base 24 of the tip 20must not close the leading end of the first internal duct 37a of thelongitudinal projection 36, and for this purpose the leading end of thelongitudinal projection 36 is bevelled on the side where the first duct37a of the longitudinal projection 36 opens out (FIG. 1). In addition,the base 24 of the tip 20 carries a projection 27 whose outer profileprojects very slightly over the end of the first internal duct 37a, withthe inner profile thereof being complementary to a portion of the outerprofile of the second internal duct 37b, the second internal duct 37bextending beyond the first internal duct 37a. The inner profile of theprojection 27 serves to prevent any movement in transverse translationof the tip 20 relative to the longitudinal projection 36 in thetransverse direction defined by the midplane 12.

By way of example, the piercing pin for perfusion purposes 10 of theinvention can be made of injection molded plastics material. Thesuccessive steps in which the pin is used are shown in FIGS. 5 to 7.

FIG. 5 shows the bottle 44 and the pin 10 before they come into contact:the central portion of the front face of the cap 42 faces the bevelledend of the tip 20 and the longitudinal axis of the bottle 44 is parallelto, and substantially coincident with, the first longitudinal axis 39 ofthe pin body.

Thereafter, the pin 10 is moved along arrow 13 in FIG. 5 and thebevelled end 22 of the tip 20 perforates the resilient capsule 46 of thebottle 44 with the tip 20 and the major portion of the longitudinalprojection 36 penetrating into the bottle 44. Once the cap 42 has beenfully engaged in the leading portion of the pin body 10 (FIG. 6), anysignificant movement of the cap 42 relative to the pin body 30 isprevented in the transverse direction by the inner periphery 31 of theside wall 32, and axially because of the front and back stopsconstituted respectively by the abutment 45 and the inner transverseedge of the rib 43. The capsule 46 has been pierced and the lip of thepierced slit is folded back against the outer periphery of thelongitudinal projection 36. A bottle and piercing pin assembly is thusobtained which is stable and suitable for performing perfusion.

When perfusion has been completed, the empty or partially emptyperfusion bottle 44 is pulled more or less axially in the direction ofarrow 14 in FIG. 7.

The side wall 32, which is made resilient by its longitudinal slots,enlarges to release the cap 42 and when the folded-over lip of the slitin the capsule 46 comes into contact with the plane transverse back faceof the projection 26, the tip 20 comes to bear against the capsule 46.In this way the capsule 46 retains the tip 20 in the bottle and the lipof the slit folds back to reclose the capsule: the tip 20 is heldcaptive inside the perfusion bottle 44 and the piercing pin 10 forperfusion purposes of the invention cannot be reused.

I claim:
 1. A single use piercing pin for piercing the resilient capsuleof a perfusion bottle, said piercing pin comprising:a pin body includinga main hollow portion and a longitudinal projection extending from saidmain portion, said projection being provided with a first internal ductand a second internal duct, the main portion of the pin body defining afirst longitudinal axis around which said first internal duct of thelongitudinal projection is centered, said first internal duct being anextension of an internal duct of the main portion of the pin body;piercing means removable from said pin body for piercing said resilientcapsule, said piercing means being provided with an internal passage,the internal passage of said piercing means defining a secondlongitudinal axis; and fastening means for temporarily fastening saidpiercing means to said longitudinal projection so that said secondinternal duct of said projection extends from said internal passage ofsaid piercing means and so that said second internal duct is centered onsaid second longitudinal axis, said fastening means including means fortransmitting a force to the piercing means when a force is applied in afirst direction for piercing said resilient capsule so that saidpiercing means pass through said capsule and penetrate inside saidbottle, and means for allowing said piercing means to be disconnectedfrom said longitudinal projection when a force is applied to said bottlein a second direction opposite to said first direction for separatingsaid piercing pin from said bottle, whereby said piercing means remainin said bottle, said second internal duct allowing filtered outside airto pass into the perfusion bottle.
 2. A piercing pin according to claim1, wherein said piercing means comprise a hollow tip having a free endwhich is beveled for piercing said capsule and a base designed totemporarily cooperate with said longitudinal extension of the pin body.3. A piercing pin for perfusion purposes according to claim 2whereinsaid temporary fastening means are disposed firstly on said base of thehollow tip and secondly on a free end of said longitudinal projection ofthe pin body.
 4. A piercing pin for perfusion purposes according toclaim 3,wherein said temporary fastening means are constituted by aguide system comprising a first slideway on the free end of thelongitudinal projection and a second slideway on said base, said secondslideway being complementary to said first slideway, said first andsecond slideways being designed to co-operate for the purpose ofreversibly positioning said hollow tip on said cylindrical projection ofthe pin body.
 5. A piercing pin for perfusion purposes according toclaim 5,wherein the profile of said second slideway is T-shaped.
 6. Apiercing pin according to claim 1, wherein said piercing means comprisean extension portion designated to pass through the capsule of saidbottle when the force is applied to the bottle in the first direction.7. A piercing pin for perfusion purposes according to claim 6wherein theextension consists of a projection laterally overhanging the outerperiphery of the surface following said projection going towards themain portion of the pin body when said piercing means are in position onthe pin body via said temporary fastening means, such that the capsuleof the bottle comes into abutment against said projection when thepiercing pin is withdrawn from the bottle.
 8. A piercing pin forperfusion purposes according to claim 1wherein the main portion of thepin body includes an internal duct extending from said internal duct ofthe longitudinal projection, the end of said internal duct of the mainportion being closed by a septum of pre-slit latex.
 9. A single usepiercing pin for piercing the resilient capsule of a perfusion bottle,said piercing pin comprising;a pin body including a side wall, a mainhollow portion, an inside face connecting the side wall to the mainportion and a longitudinal projection extending from said main portion,said projection being provided with at least one internal duct; piercingmeans removable from said pin body for piercing said resilient capsule,said piercing means being provided with an internal passage; fasteningmeans for temporarily fastening said piercing means to said longitudinalprojection so that said internal passage of said piercing means extendsfrom said internal duct of said projection, said piercing meansincluding means for transmitting a force to the piercing means when aforce is applied in a first direction for piercing said resilientcapsule so that said piercing means pass through said capsule andpenetrate inside said bottle, and means for allowing said piercing meansto be disconnected from said longitudinal projection when a force isapplied to said bottle in a second direction opposite to said firstdirection for separating said piercing pin from said bottle, wherebysaid piercing means remain inside said bottle; and an abutment disposedon a periphery of the inside face connecting the side wall to the mainportion of the pin body, said abutment cooperating with an end face of acap of the perfusion bottle when the cap is fully engaged within saidpin body.
 10. A piercing pin according to claim 9, wherein the sidewallof the pin body extends from said main portion of the pin body andsurround s, at least in part, said longitudinal projection.
 11. Apiercing pin purposes according to claim 10,wherein said side wall ofthe pin body has longitudinal slots that are regularly spaced apartextending along the entire length of said side wall and the free end ofsaid side wall includes, on its inside face, a rib projecting radiallyso that said rib serves as a catch element for engaging the back face ofthe cap of the perfusion bottle when said cap is fully engaged in saidpin body and when said perfusion bottle has any tendency to movelongitudinally away from the piercing pin.
 12. A piercing pin accordingto claim 11 wherein said side wall of said pin body is structured tosupport the perfusion bottle and to hold the perfusion bottle bothradially and axially.
 13. A single use piercing pin for piercing theresilient capsule of a perfusion bottle, said piercing pin comprising:apin body including a main hollow portion and a longitudinal projectionextending from said main portion, said projection being provided with atleast one internal duct; piercing means removable from said pin body forpiercing said resilient capsule, said piercing means being provided withan internal passage, said piercing means comprising a hollow tip havinga free end which is beveled for piercing said capsule and a basedesigned to temporarily cooperate with said longitudinal projection;fastening means for temporarily fastening said piercing means to saidlongitudinal projections so that said internal passage of said piercingmeans extends from said internal duct of said projection, said fasteningmeans including means for transmitting a force to the piercing meanswhen a force is applied in a first direction for piercing said resilientcapsule so that said piercing means pass through said capsule andpenetrate inside said bottle, and means for allowing said piercing meansto be disconnected from said longitudinal projection when a force isapplied to said bottle in a second direction opposite to said firstdirection for separating said piercing pin from said bottle, wherebysaid piercing means remain inside said bottle, said fastening meanscomprising a guide system comprising a first slideway disposed on a freeend of the longitudinal projection and a second slideway disposed onsaid base of said piercing means, said second slideway beingcomplementary to said first slideway, said first and second slidewaysbeing designed to cooperate for the purpose of reversibly positioningsaid hollow tip on said longitudinal projection of said pin body.
 14. Asingle use piercing pin for piercing the resilient capsule of aperfusion bottle, said piercing pin comprising:a pin body including amain hollow portion and a longitudinal projection extending from saidmain portion, said projection being provided with at least one internalduct; piercing means removable from said pin body for piercing saidresilient capsule, said piercing means being provided with an internalpassage, said piercing means comprising an extension portion designed topass through the capsule of said bottle when force is applied to thebottle in a first direction; and fastening means for temporarilyfastening said piercing means to said longitudinal projection so thatsaid internal passage of said piercing means extends from said internalduct of said projection, said fastening means including means fortransmitting a force to the piercing means when a force is applied inthe first direction for piercing said resilient capsule so that saidpiercing means pass through said capsule and penetrate inside saidbottle, and means for allowing said piercing means to be disconnectedfrom said longitudinal projection when a force is applied to said bottlein a second direction opposite to said first direction for separatingsaid piercing pin from said bottle, whereby said piercing means remaininside said bottle; said extension portion of said piercing meanscomprising a projection laterally overhanging an outer periphery of asurface of said pin body after said projection going towards said mainportion of said pin body when said piercing means are in position onsaid pin body via said temporary fastening means, such that the capsuleof the bottle comes into abutment against said projection of saidpiercing means when said piercing pin is withdrawn from the bottle.